Black Lounge - Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge — Restaurant in KwaZulu-Natal

I’m writing to share a very disappointing experience I had at Black Lounge this past Saturday. This was our second visit — the first was on Women’s Day, and we were so impressed by the service then (especially by a very professional and accommodating trainee waiter) that we decided to return to celebrate a small personal achievement with friends. We made a booking four days in advance. A day before the reservation, someone called to confirm it, and during the conversation, we clearly mentioned that we were coming specifically for the special, as we had really enjoyed it the first time. However, the caller failed to inform us that the special had been changed and now ends at 15:00, instead of the usual 17:00. We arrived between 15:15 and 15:20. At the time, only two of us had arrived and the rest were running late. I asked if I could still order the special while we waited, since it included drinks and we had arrived only a few minutes past the cutoff. Only then were we told the special had ended 15–20 minutes earlier. Two of our friends canceled immediately, saying they were only attending for the special. Four of us remained and decided to order two platters (R200 each) to share (1 platter between 2 people). To our surprise, the waiter returned with four platters. When we questioned this, he arrogantly replied that we had ordered them and that there was “nothing he could do.” We remained calm, assuming we’d take leftovers home in doggy bags. Unfortunately, the service continued to deteriorate. The waiter disappeared for long periods, and we had to go looking for him whenever we needed anything. No proper introduction was given, no check-ins — just overall inattentive service. When the bill arrived, we noticed it included 8 Stella beers, which we did not consume, and the number of Heineken drafts listed was also incorrect. Despite this, we were willing to let it go. The most unacceptable part, however, was being forced to tip. When we questioned the waiter, explaining that we were unhappy with the service, he insisted that tipping was “the process” and “nothing could be done.” We requested to speak to a manager, but he dismissed that too, saying it wouldn’t change anything — especially because our bill was over R2000, which we believe may have been inflated with the added beers. In summary:

-We were misled about the special’s cutoff time. -The waiter was rude, inattentive, and failed to provide basic service. -Incorrect items were added to our bill. -We were pressured into tipping for a service we were extremely dissatisfied with.

While the food was well-prepared and enjoyable, being forced to tip under these circumstances is unacceptable. It left a very sour impression on what was meant to be a celebratory outing. I hope management takes this feedback seriously and implements better training and accountability for staff — particularly regarding honesty in billing and respecting customer choice when it comes to tipping based on...

We picked Black for my dad's 70th birthday. It was a night we won't forget for all the wrong reasons.

We had a trainee waiter (and he did his best given the circumstances).

It started with misunderstanding the drinks order to getting the order wrong that ended up some of the party not eating and some even sent food back as the meals were cold.

Don't think complaining to the manager will help - the lady came to apologize not asking is there anything she can do, then disappears and doesn't come back. And still charges us for meals not eaten and sent back.

I had to get up to go speak to her then she rolls her eyes when I said I don't think the way she handled the matter was satisfactory. When I said I want to complain she refused to give her name making an excuse that she was in the kitchen trying to sort this issue. However I can't think a side order of mash can take 30 mins to try and fix?

I had to ask for another manager who truly made a difference while the initial manager still failed to take any accountability as someone running a supposedly well functioning establishment.

Sadly I had to give one star as 0 stars where not an option. However the 1 star is justified by the trainee trying his best and the 2nd manager who attempted to save...

My girlfriends and I go out once a month just to wine and dine and catch up so this month we choose the black lounge on arrival we were welcomed by warm smiles we sat in the VIP section the cocktails were great but stuff need more training on the men because our waitress Jessica did not know a few things and she went back and forth to find out I ordered the steak and was given ribs my food arrived first then 5 minutes later one of my friends meal come then 10 minutes later 2 of my other friends meal arrived then 10 minutes later the other 2 meals arrived so seeing that we did not all get our meals at the same time we had to wait for all meals to arrive before eating and eventually when we did start eating most of the food was cold I then realized that my meal was ribs and not steak so I sent it back but I battled to get my order right and when I finally got my steak it was to late because I was the last one eating because my order got sorted out about an hour later also the manager seemed very confused as to why she had to correct my order I'm very disappointed at the poor service I will not be going back any time soon it was a Wednesday night and the place was quite empty so I don't under what...